Tectonic shifts

From European Voice's Entre-Nous column

3/24/10, 10:01 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 9:02 PM CET

Big changes in the world of Brussels lobbying.

More tectonic shifts in the crusty world of Brussels lobbying. Edelman, an American public relations firm, is merging its Brussels operation with The Centre, a consultancy that styled itself as a ‘think-do tank’.

Founded by Paul Adamson and Martin Porter in 2003, The Centre is effectively being bought, though the new entity will be called Edelman | The Centre. Adamson will be chairman of the organisation for two years.

The staff of Edelman will move from their offices on rue des Deux Eglises, close to the Commission’s competition department, to The Centre’s headquarters on Avenue Marnix.

E!Sharp, the magazine Adamson founded in 2000 in his other life as a media entrepreneur, will continue as before, but its editor and production editor will move out of The Centre’s offices.

The experience of selling a business is not new to Adamson. In 1998 he sold Adamson Associates to BSMG. The company merged with Weber Shandwick’s Brussels operation in 2001 to create Weber Shandwick Adamson. Two years later, Adamson and Porter launched The Centre.